Khyber53

Our run defense shows that he's not that great of a linebackers coach. Shaq and Luvu look out of position on every play (probably because they are called on too much in pass defense). This has not been a Carolina-style linebacker group, yet we have the personnel for it to be one.

I really, really like DJ and I really can't stand Rodgers. Win-win in my book.

Right now, I think PJ is making a case to be in the QB room next season. Mayfield won't be there. Darnold probably won't either and he definitely won't if he doesn't see the field this year (which has a good chance of happening). I think we look at PJ and Matt Corral going into next season. Depending on how Matt has done with the play book and how he recovers, he could be the starter or the back-up still on the learning track. That would allow us to address DE immediately and I think we need to do that. Burns can't get it done without someone on the other side to really press a defense. YGM isn't doing it and he's really just a rotational guy. We need someone that will command double teams on the outside and pull some of the pressure off of Burns. You never know, we could enter the arms race for a proven vet QB who is looking for a new contract. Jackson from Baltimore may not have a deal done before the legal tampering season opens... Still, PJ shows more promise now than I ever thought he would. Good on him and I hope he continues to grow. It sure would a miracle for us to find out that the answer really was on the roster for once.

Honestly, this one has upset written all over it. The Bengals have no DBs out there and their offensive line is terrible. We could make this work for us today and swing back into the weird contenders position in the NFCSouth. I'm going out on a limb here and saying Panthers 28 Bengals 10.

Something tells me this is going to be an interesting game.

Yeah, we've heard these things before from those other guys I mentioned, too. Herbert's got to prove himself someday.

My thing is, you mentioned Justin Herbert... Honestly, I think the guy is another Phillip Rivers or Carson Palmer... all the stat guys bring them up and they get a lot of love from the pundits, but there they are just kind of spinning their wheels, never winning enough games to get their teams anywhere.

I can't believe I am going to say this, especially with all of the criticism I leveled at the guy after he was hired on... McAdoo might very well get the chance to stay as OC and right now, I'm not hating that. Since Rhule left town and McAdoo had a full week without the guy looking over his shoulder, we've logged a win and one helluva close game. The difference in how our offense has played in the Tampa and Atlanta games versus all the others is pretty astounding. We look aggressive and we are beginning to start pushing the ball downfield. Also, the run game has moved into a pummeling, crushing instrument of destruction out there. I'm not sold that McAdoo is the guy to keep, but he's making one helluva case for it, just like Wilks is. And if we let our OLine and DLine coaching assistants go, we'll be making a huge mistake. Edit to add: Honestly, I'm beginning to think we may have inadvertently found a good all-around coaching staff that can be competitive. We just had to get rid of Rhule to see them really work.

We can't really judge it at all until we see how those picks get used.

Another billionaire's trash gets turned into even more billions. These guys are parasites on the planet. But at least they give us a product that's worth watching on Sunday afternoons.

We are far too early in this to fully judge Steve Wilks as a head coach. What he has done, though, is jump into the middle of a burning building and started pulling people out of harm's way. The building is still on fire, there are valuables still inside and this isn't the time to start saying he's got this. Let's let the man work. He seems to be doing all the right things, but he's got a mighty, mighty task before him. On a personal note, I like him and have a growing confidence in him. The team is playing very much like they believe in him. And we do seem to be playing without handcuffs on. If he can turn this into wins... but let's not get ahead of ourselves.

Can we just quit with the calling for someone's head when they fail at something? This is freaking childish. The guy has been money as a kicker every time he's walked out there before. Had the refs followed the rules and realized that wasn't a penalty on DJ, this wouldn't be a topic and Eddie would have given us the walk-off score. Please, let's stop judging people at a level we wouldn't want to face for ourselves.

It's not an insult to either player.

Right now, yes, I am sold on him being the HC. There's still a lot of games left to be played, though. He's made this team tougher and grittier than they've been since about mid-way through Rivera's tenure. They aren't as resilient and scrappy as the 2003 Panthers, but for a bit yesterday they sure felt like that team. C'mon, admit it, you cheered and you about lost sanity when PJ and DJ connected on that long bomb to tie up the game with seconds left. No matter the outcome, for a moment there you believed. And I see that there's a team out there that finally believes in their coach and the Keep Pounding attitude we need. Can he maintain it throughout what will be a long, tough season? That's a helluva question and a helluva task for any coach stuck where he is. I think, I think, he can make something out of this. I can only imagine what he could do with his hands on a team built more to his specifications. And after the half yesterday, you could tell he put the spurs to McAdoo and told him to open the game plan up. When was the last time we made halftime adjustments?? So yeah, right now I'd be happy if we lost that Interim title from his name. Let's revisit it again during the bye. We really ought to know more about whether this enthusiasm and toughness of the team is sustainable by then.

And yet, there he is out there just killing it. Give that man a contract! Honestly, it's too early to say that but he is, without a doubt, showing that he's a much better coach than Rhule. He's more competitive with fewer stars on the field. Those men will go to war for Steve Wilks.

Good for him, the guy is a bonafide star. Wish it had worked out here, but it just didn't. We're going to be fine in the RB department and CMC is going to push for league MVP within a year or two. Everyone wins. I guess.

No one could have seen Mayfield would have played that badly. Even his naysayers were like, dayummmmm.

Honestly, I'd like to see both Mayfield and Darnold without Rhule, yanno? Of course, that's if PJ doesn't keep just winning out there. If PJ keeps winning, then we keep PJ... this ain't rocket science. Neither Mayfield or Darnold really got a fair shake under the past leadership because, well, Rhule just wasn't good at all and he created more problems for the team than he solved. Both, or either, could still be terrible... this isn't a complete pass on their transgressions, but both performed worse here than in their last stops. In Mayfield's case, he performed so badly that it's close to inexplicable. In the end, I think we keep whichever of the three vets handles their duties the best from here on out, at a very team friendly deal, and we move on with Corral. While Corral hasn't had much on the field experience, he will have had a full year of pro-level film study and mental reps, plus getting to know his teammates. That could accelerate his learning curve next season. If, somehow, he could be the guy then I'd love to see us be able to pick up another incredibly disruptive DE or DT at the top of the draft instead. That frikkin' Lisfranc injury really robbed us of some important information, didn't it?

We're at an odd threshold here. Let's get the win and see where it takes us.

If you suddenly find yourself in first place in your division, you better try and keep winning. Life is too short to bet on next season. No matter how crazy it might sound.

No, for all the knocks on Darnold, the guy could move when it was necessary.

I'm feeling oddly optimistic about this one. I think it becomes a run heavy game for both teams. 24-21 Panthers

As some of you might know, I'm an old print journalist. In the past I've written, edited, published and even owned a newspaper. About a decade ago, though, I just had to walk away from it. There's just not enough money to go around -- the pool of outlets has been shrinking for the last 20 years and there are just tons of young kids wanting to do the work for next to nothing. Well, I got a phone call from an old buddy who does voiceover work. He let me know that a YouTube channel he works for needed a script writer and he wanted me to take a shot at it. And, well, I've been trying to say yes to more things here of late and so I did. Somehow I ended up with a great opportunity, bosses that are giving me the chance to learn this different style and who seem genuinely happy to have me. The team I work with is spread across three continents and somehow it is working out. I couldn't be happier and more engaged. The channel is a true crime one called Beyond Evil and they're at the half million subscriber level and they're established in the field. I think they can go even farther. I'd really like to go with them. Well, either way, my first video goes live today and if you want to give it a view, I'd be tickled. Thanks all!

Prayers for you, man!